Donation Opportunities

Send donations to your local American Red Cross chapter. Click here to find your local chapter now.

How your donations are used to change lives

At the American Red Cross, we make sure your donations are used effectively and efficiently to help the people right here in your community.

For every dollar donated, 91 cents goes toward funding local Red Cross programs such as the Transportation Services program or classes that teach life-saving skills like CPR.

We honor donor intent. You have the option to designate your donation to a specific program or area, ensuring you know exactly how your dollars are put to work.

Undesignated donations are also used to fund our valuable programs, helping our chapter continue to carry out the Red Cross mission.

Thank you for donating your time, talents and treasure to the Red Cross.

Click here to find more information at your local chapter now.

Donation FAQs

Where can I give blood?
Why won’t the Red Cross accept small, individual donations or collections of items such as clothing, food or cleaning supplies?
What can I do to help?
Can I dedicate my donation to someone or make a donation on behalf of a person?
I want to help raise money for a specific family who was affected by disaster. Can I make my gift through the Red Cross?
Is my credit card information secure?
My donation was denied. Why?
Can I cancel a donation?
Can I change where I want my donation to go?
Can I make automatic credit card donations?
Why do you require my email address?
Why do you require another identification number besides my credit card number?
I made a donation online (or a memorial/in honor of donation) and now I have questions about it. Who can I call?
I don’t see the fund that I wanted to donate to. What do I do?
I live outside the U.S. Is this why I’m having trouble making a donation?
How can my company donate to the Red Cross? Does the Red Cross offer any corporate sponsorship opportunities?

Where can I give blood?
Individuals wishing to make a blood donation to the Red Cross may call their local Red Cross Blood Services office or call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.

Why won’t the Red Cross accept small, individual donations or collections of items such as clothing, food or cleaning supplies-doesn’t every little bit help?
The Red Cross does not accept individual donations of material items (called “in-kind” donations) because receipt of such items can actually hamper relief efforts. The financial and personnel cost of receiving, sorting, transporting goods and ensuring the quality and cleanliness of items donated by individual households is very high. It does not allow for individuals and families to receive what they uniquely need in their own size and shape.

The traditional method of providing Red Cross assistance is with a voucher, redeemable at local stores and paid for with donation dollars, that enables victims to purchase what they need in the correct sizes and in accordance with their own taste. Making even these small decisions helps individuals begin to take control of their lives and their recovery. In addition, this process helps channel money into the local economy and thus aids the community in recovery from disaster. The Red Cross does accept large corporate donations of food, bottled water and other items needed by the disaster-affected communities.

What can I do to help?
There is a wide variety of volunteer opportunities at the Red Cross to support all of the organization’;s services. People who wish to volunteer should contact their local American Red Cross chapter because the vast majority of volunteer opportunities are typically found within an individual’s local community. International disaster relief workers are drawn from a pool of paid and volunteer staff with extensive prior experience.

Individuals wishing to make a financial donation to the American Red Cross may send a check to their local Red Cross chapter.

Can I dedicate my donation to someone or make a donation on behalf of a person?
Yes. You can make your donation a “tribute”; to someone in their honor, or in memory of a lost loved one. This information is entered in the Honor/Memorial Donation section. The American Red Cross will mail a Tribute card to your recipient announcing that an Honor or Memorial donation was made by you. You will also receive a card acknowledging your gift.

I want to help raise money for a specific family who was affected by disaster. Can I make my gift through the Red Cross?
We applaud your desire to help a family at a difficult time, but unfortunately gifts for a specific family or person cannot be made through the The American Red Cross. We are committed to helping every family in need recover from emergencies by providing food, clothing, shelter and other essential services and supplies based on need. Special contributions for a specific families violate our principles of providing help equally to all who need it.

Is my credit card information secure?
American Red Cross takes every precaution to protect our donors’ information. When donors submit sensitive information via the Web site, your information is protected both online and offline. We use high grade encryption and the https security protocol to communicate with your browser software. This method is the industry standard security protocol, which makes it extremely difficult for anyone else to intercept the credit card information you send to us. Companies we work with to process credit card transactions also use high grade encryption and security protocols. The American Red Cross employs error checking procedures to make certain transactions are processed completely and accurately. As necessary, changes are made to improve our systems. And, independent external and internal audits are conducted to ensure the privacy, security and appropriate processing of your information on our site. Committed to the protection & privacy for all of our users, it is the policy of American Red Cross to continually enhance our fraud protection systems and our other processes to fight identity theft. In addition to maintaining privacy and security controls over information you share with us, the American Red Cross works to accurately process your contribution information.

My donation was denied. Why?
If your donation failed after completing the transaction, it is likely that information provided, such as the credit card identification number did not match exactly with what is on file at your bank. For further assistance, you may contact your local chapter.

Can I cancel a donation?
You may need to cancel a donation. Here’s how: Contact your local chapter office and they will request some information and handle your cancellation. For quickest assistance, please have the details of your transaction ready when you contact us.

Can I change where I want my donation to go?
Yes. Please contact your local chapter. Please have ready the date of your gift, the dollar amount, the fund it went to, and the fund you would like it to go to.

Can I make automatic credit card donations?
Yes, please contact your local chapter and we will assist you further.

Why do you require my email address?
Your email address is required so we can send you a proper acknowledgement of your gift. Details of your donation are found in this email, which you can print or save for tax purposes

Why do you require another identification number besides my credit card number?
The Card Security Code (CSC) is a 3- or 4-digit number printed on your credit card. It provides added security when you use your card on the Internet or over the phone. The number appears only on the card itself, not on receipts or statements.

I made a donation online (or a memorial/in honor of donation) and now I have questions about it. Who can I call?
Your local chapter office.

I don’t see the fund that I wanted to donate to. What do I do?


Due to space limitations, we are limited in how many funds we can make available for online donations. If you would like to donate to a fund that is not listed, please contact your local chapter office for assistance.

I live outside the U.S. Is this why I’m having trouble making a donation?
Donors from outside the U.S. can make a gift as long as their credit card is supported by a U.S. based card company. Our online donation system is designed to protect donor security and privacy, and prevent illicit use by frauders. If your credit card is non-US based, you can still mail in your gift by check using our Mail In Form.

How can my company donate to the Red Cross? Does the Red Cross offer any corporate sponsorship opportunities?
Your company can:
• Provide direct monetary support
• Sponsor vehicles, programs and events
• Include your local chapter of the American Red Cross in your employee giving and matching gift program
• Provide venues
• Provide publicity
• Provide expertise
• Provide services